


Roots

by tinyfiestyrosiekitten



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: ( I can't believe those aren't tags? ), Domestic Fluff, M/M, Retired Gabriel Reyes, Retired Jack Morrison, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:36:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27762364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyfiestyrosiekitten/pseuds/tinyfiestyrosiekitten
Summary: When he was a young man, Jack dreamed of a world at peace and golden years spent with his love. What he earned in the end might be more then he ever dreamed of having.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 13
Kudos: 22
Collections: Reaper76 Free For All Secret Santa 2020





	Roots

**Author's Note:**

  * For [apostapal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/apostapal/gifts).



> This is a piece written for the Christmas 2020 R76 Exchange and I really hope you like it Apostapal!

It’ll never be in the history books that Jack Morrison was a man born with his roots buried deep in the soil.  
That he dreamed of small feet pattering around a farm with his husband by his side, their golden years rich and rolling ahead of them with promises of lazy days.   
But today it's spent smiling as his blurred vision takes in the early morning. Even if it was perhaps not as early as his ladies would like.   
He coos in a rough voice as he lifts a hen up gently, inspecting her wing. Gertie clucks at him irritably. "Lucy did a good number on you. Maybe next time you’ll stick to eating your own meal, you great glutton.” 

After examining her bandaged wing for any drainage, he sets her back down and resumes checking for eggs. Other than Gertie’s healing wing, Lucy, Pearl, and Rose are fine. Seeing his girls do well makes Jack hum happily as he tucks eggs into his basket, gloved fingers gentle on the various colored eggs. Brown, pale blue, and the occasional green shell—his Easter egg hens never fail to provide. 

Whistling as he exits the pen, he takes a moment to sidle down the paths of his raised garden beds. 

No, this isn’t the life they wrote about, but it’s the life he loves best. The smell of fall is in the air with crisp leaves and old earth rising, the cool tang of morning frost fading at the back of his tongue. Soon it would be time for hot cider with whiskey and long cuddles near a roaring fireplace. 

The back door opens with a whining screech and a head of curly dark hair pokes out. “Jack, get your ass inside already! I got breakfast started, but I need the eggs.”   
The door snaps shut without waiting for a reply and Jack laughs as he trots back towards the house he shares with his husband.

His greatest joy is this: long days growing things instead of killing, evenings and nights that feel like a dream spent with the love of his life. He and Gabriel had happily laid down their weapons once Overwatch was renewed and settled. They had no interest in a second attempt at making their old life work, too tired to try it all again. No, when Jack said he wasn’t going to stay, Gabriel simply packed up their shared quarters in the new watchpoint and asked when they were going to leave. 

They searched and searched until Jack found a farm in Oregon nestled in the heart of the mountains and valleys. It was warm enough in the summer to keep content Gabriel and got cold enough for Jack to still experience fall and winter.   
At first, Gabriel had complained. Then he saw the old farmstead that needed fixing up and almost swooned over the classical style. He was far more willing to take up a hammer and some nails to help Jack fix the house after that. They didn’t stop until all the charm of the outer house had been restored and the interior updated. Diva that he is, Gabriel insisted on heated floors in the master bathroom and bedroom. 

Jack snorts at the memory, feet padding indoors. Gabriel trades him the egg basket for a soft kiss on the lips and starts sorting the eggs with acute efficiency while Jack settles at the table.   
The house looks pristine as always. Jack counts himself lucky that his husband let him “fuss in the dirt,” which left Gabriel in charge of the housework. Sometimes all the windows and doors would be thrown open, music spilling out as far as the garden or corral where they kept their lone horse.   
Maybe not alone for long. He’s been thinking about expanding the farm to include a couple of milk cows. Gabriel had expressed an interest in a new hobby, and Jack bets he’d love a couple of cashmere goats. Buying him the things he needs to process the wool and spin it would be easy, and Gabriel could take up knitting or crochet. Jack can already imagine the ridiculously beautiful man in his wing back chair in front of the fire. 

He blinks out of his fantasy when a hand waves in front of his face, smiling hopelessly as Gabriel rolls his eyes and kisses him yet again. Jack listens as Gabriel cooks up pancakes and presumably resumes his chatter about a local winery’s tasting menu and how they could make a weekend date out of it. The smells of good food waft over to him and Jack melts a little as sunshine pours into their kitchen. His husband’s voice is a soothing burr, and Jack thinks yes.

Was this their happy ending? Was this what he’d dreamed of as a younger man so long ago? 

_Yes. This was better than anything they’d had_ , even when his hair was still the color of spun gold and Gabriel’s face was unmarred by war and grief.

Jack rises, sidling over to Gabriel. He presses along his back and kisses him before he can turn his head to ask him what’s wrong. With Jack squeezing his trim waist and nudging his face into his shoulder, Gabriel reaches back to pet his white hair. The two sway together in the calm of the morning. 

No, Jack wouldn’t trade this for all the riches and fame in the world, not even for the once thrilling rush of battle that fired his blood as a younger man. It’s uncertain how much time they have left, and he fully intends to cherish it as long as he can. When Gabriel smiles against his face, Jack knows the love of his life feels the same way.

They embrace each other and share kisses, as often as they can, whenever they can. Taking each day as it comes, side by side as it was always meant to be.


End file.
